ID :
19903
Wed, 09/17/2008 - 10:37
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/19903
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School Information: Teachers Must Accept Disclosure of Their Affiliations
(EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on Sept. 17)
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has decided to make primary, middle and high schools disclose the number of teachers belonging to trade unions and fraternity groups starting December.
The decision is part of government
efforts to make more school information available for students and parents. In
addition, the revised regulations make it mandatory for each school to disclose
information ranging from its curriculum to scholastic achievement evaluation on
its Web site.
It is apparent that the ``school information disclosure system" is aimed at
improving the quality of education by making public school data transparent. It
reflects President Lee Myung-bak's policy of promoting competitive education,
instead of the country's long-held focus on egalitarian and standardized
education. The system is expected to provide valuable information to students as
they are allowed to choose schools they want to attend from 2010. Children have
so far been assigned to schools in their district through a lottery system.
The disclosure system will no doubt enable children and their parents to enjoy
the right to know about school operations. Information about teachers is also
indispensable to evaluating each school's education quality. Therefore, many
parents want to have access to teachers' profiles. The education ministry once
considered releasing a list of teachers and their affiliations with trade unions
or fraternity associations.
However, the ministry has taken one step back to let schools reveal only the
number of teachers ¡ª not a list of their names ¡ª in terms of their
affiliations. However, the left-leaning Korean Teachers & Education Workers'
Union (KTU) is protesting the government decision, claiming that the measure is a
ploy to crack down on the labor union. Obviously, KTU is against the disclosure
rule on fears that many parents would not send their children to schools
dominated by unionized teachers.
In fact, the KTU is increasingly losing its popularity not only among teachers
but also among parents. The number of KTU members fell to 74,000 this year from
87,800 in 2004. Thus, the KTU had better overhaul its left-leaning policies. It
needs to realize that the trade union has been excessively focused on ideology
and political slogans in classroom education. An increasing number of people are
turning their back on the union because it is engrossed in ideological and
political struggles at the expense of universal education for children.
The KTU, founded in 1989, was once touted as a teachers' union advocating
democratic principles and social reforms. It also waged a campaign against
corruption in the education sector. The union has been praised for its efforts to
eliminate the bad practice of teachers taking bribes from parents. But, the KTU
has recently been concentrating on political and ideological struggles to oppose
major competitive education policies, including the introduction of a teacher
evaluation system.
Now, it is the time for the KTU to change itself to provide better education and
sharpen the nation's international education competitiveness. The KTU and its
members are required to closely cooperate in establishing a transparent
disclosure system for school information. This can be the starting point for
quality education.
(END)
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has decided to make primary, middle and high schools disclose the number of teachers belonging to trade unions and fraternity groups starting December.
The decision is part of government
efforts to make more school information available for students and parents. In
addition, the revised regulations make it mandatory for each school to disclose
information ranging from its curriculum to scholastic achievement evaluation on
its Web site.
It is apparent that the ``school information disclosure system" is aimed at
improving the quality of education by making public school data transparent. It
reflects President Lee Myung-bak's policy of promoting competitive education,
instead of the country's long-held focus on egalitarian and standardized
education. The system is expected to provide valuable information to students as
they are allowed to choose schools they want to attend from 2010. Children have
so far been assigned to schools in their district through a lottery system.
The disclosure system will no doubt enable children and their parents to enjoy
the right to know about school operations. Information about teachers is also
indispensable to evaluating each school's education quality. Therefore, many
parents want to have access to teachers' profiles. The education ministry once
considered releasing a list of teachers and their affiliations with trade unions
or fraternity associations.
However, the ministry has taken one step back to let schools reveal only the
number of teachers ¡ª not a list of their names ¡ª in terms of their
affiliations. However, the left-leaning Korean Teachers & Education Workers'
Union (KTU) is protesting the government decision, claiming that the measure is a
ploy to crack down on the labor union. Obviously, KTU is against the disclosure
rule on fears that many parents would not send their children to schools
dominated by unionized teachers.
In fact, the KTU is increasingly losing its popularity not only among teachers
but also among parents. The number of KTU members fell to 74,000 this year from
87,800 in 2004. Thus, the KTU had better overhaul its left-leaning policies. It
needs to realize that the trade union has been excessively focused on ideology
and political slogans in classroom education. An increasing number of people are
turning their back on the union because it is engrossed in ideological and
political struggles at the expense of universal education for children.
The KTU, founded in 1989, was once touted as a teachers' union advocating
democratic principles and social reforms. It also waged a campaign against
corruption in the education sector. The union has been praised for its efforts to
eliminate the bad practice of teachers taking bribes from parents. But, the KTU
has recently been concentrating on political and ideological struggles to oppose
major competitive education policies, including the introduction of a teacher
evaluation system.
Now, it is the time for the KTU to change itself to provide better education and
sharpen the nation's international education competitiveness. The KTU and its
members are required to closely cooperate in establishing a transparent
disclosure system for school information. This can be the starting point for
quality education.
(END)
